Taxus Baccata (Common Yew / English Yew) Taxus Baccata (Common Yew / English Yew) Taxus baccata is a medium sized, evergreen conifer, native to Britain, much of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. It is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions including shade and chalk but not waterlogged or poor draining soil. It is widely used in landscaping as its relatively slow growth and tolerance of pruning make it an ideal plant for hedging and topiary. Bright red, berry like fruits ripen in the autumn and are attractive to birds during the winter. Most parts of the plant are toxic, particularly if foliage is eaten by animals. Fatal poisoning is uncommon in humans though unless excess volumes of foliage are consumed! Taxus baccata is the longest living plant in Europe with estimated ages between 2000 and 4000 years. However, no one can determine the exact ages as the trunk hollows with age, making a ring count impossible. This does not make the plant unstable though as once it reaches a certain size, new shoots appear at the base and grow, fusing into the main truck and acting like buttresses.

Common Name: Common, English or European Yew Family: Taxaceae Demands: Tolerant of most conditions and soil types as long as well drained Foliage: Needles are lanceolate, flat and dark green Bark: Reddish-brown, flaking in small pieces Fruit: Seeds are surrounded by a red, berry-like fruit. Taxus baccata info sheet FACT: Most commonly, people associate Yews with churchyards. Ancient Britons planted them near temples and when Christianity came to Britain, the tradition continued. Some churches were built by existing plants. Around 500 churchyards in England have a yew tree which is older than the church itself, they are meant to be a symbol of everlasting life and resurrection. Yew has a long history in England as the wood of choice for bow making. The heartwood is on the inside of the bow as it resists compression. The sapwood is on the outside as it resists stretching. Once all the British supplies had been exhausted, the wood was imported from Europe. Once the European supplies were exhausted, longbows were replace with firearms!

Taxus baccata clipped cones Common Yew - Taxus baccata - Details - Encyclopedia of Life 11 External links Taxonomy and naming[ edit ] The word yew is from Proto-Germanic *īwa-, possibly originally a loanword from Gaulish *ivos, compare Irish ēo , Welsh ywen, French if (see Eihwaz for a discussion). Baccata is Latin for bearing red berries. The word yew as it was originally used seems to refer to the color brown. [2] The yew (μίλος) was known to Theophrastus , who noted its preference for mountain coolness and shade, its evergreen character and its slow growth. [3] Most romance languages, with the notable exception of French, kept a version of the Latin word taxus (Italian tasso, Corsican tassu, Occitan teis, Catalan teix, Gasconic tech, Spanish tejo, Portuguese teixo, Galician teixo and Romanian tisă) from the same root as toxic.

In Slavic languages, the same root is preserved: Russian tiss (тис), Slovakian tis, Slovenian tisa, Serbian tisa (тиса). In Albanian it is named tis. The common yew was one of the many species first described by Linnaeus . Along with around 30 other species, it is classified in the family Taxaceae , which is now firmly classified as a conifer in the order Pinales . Description[ edit ] It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) (exceptionally up to 28 metres (92 ft)) tall, with a trunk up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) (exceptionally 4 metres (13 ft)) diameter. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem.

The leaves are flat, dark green, 1–4 centimetres (0.39–1.57 in) long and 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem, except on erect leading shoots where the spiral arrangement is more obvious. The leaves are poisonous. [1] [4] Seeds of Taxus baccata The seed cones are modified, each cone containing a single seed 4–7 millimetres (0.16–0.28 in) long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril , 8–15 millimetres (0.31–0.59 in) long and wide and open at the end.

The arils mature 6 to 9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained are eaten by thrushes , waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings; maturation of the arils is spread over 2 to 3 months, increasing the chances of successful seed dispersal. The seeds themselves are poisonous and bitter, but are opened and eaten by some bird species including Hawfinches , [5] Greenfinches and Great Tits . [6] The aril is not poisonous, gelatinous and very sweet tasting. The male cones are globose, 3–6 millimetres (0.12–0.24 in) diameter, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is mostly dioecious, but occasional individuals can be variably monoecious, or change sex with time. [1] [4] [7] Longevity[ edit ] Taxus baccata can reach 400 to 600 years of age. Some specimens live longer but the age of yews is often overestimated. [8] Ten yews in Britain are believed to predate the 10th century.

[9] The potential age of yews is impossible to determine accurately and is subject to much dispute. There is rarely any wood as old as the entire tree, while the boughs themselves often become hollow with age, making ring counts impossible. There are claims as high as 5,000–9,500 years, [10] but other evidence based on growth rates and archaeological work of surrounding structures suggests the oldest trees (such as the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland) are more likely to be in the range of 2,000 years. [11] [12] Even with this lower estimate, Taxus baccata is one of the longest-living plants in Europe. One characteristic contributing to its longevity is that it is able to split under the weight of advanced growth without succumbing to disease in the fracture, as do most other trees. Another is its ability to give rise to new epicormic and basal shoots from cut surfaces and low on its trunk, even at an old age.

Significant trees[ edit ] The Llangernyw Yew The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland, has the largest recorded trunk girth in Britain and experts estimate it to be 2,000 to 3,000 years old, although it may be a remnant of a post-Roman Christian site and around 1,500 years old. [13] The Llangernyw Yew in Clwyd , Wales, can be found at an early saint site and is about 1,500 years old. [14] Other well known yews include the Ankerwycke Yew , the Balderschwang Yew , the Caesarsboom , the Florencecourt Yew , and the Borrowdale Fraternal Four, of which poet William Wordsworth wrote. The Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve in West Sussex has one of Europe's largest yew woodlands. Estry Yew, Normandy, around 1,600 years old The oldest specimen in Spain is located in Bermiego , Asturias. It is known as Teixu l'Iglesia in the Asturian language .

It stands 15 m (49 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of 6.82 m (22.4 ft) and a crown diameter of 15 m. It was declared a Natural Monument on April 27, 1995 by the Asturian Government and is protected by the Plan of Natural Resources. [15] A unique forest formed by Taxus baccata and European Box ( Buxus sempervirens ) lies within the city of Sochi , in the Western Caucasus . Toxicity[ edit ] Most parts of the tree are toxic, except the bright red aril surrounding the seed. This appears like a berry with the end split open to reveal the seed.[ citation needed ] The seed inside is poisonous. [16] The foliage itself remains toxic even when wilted, and toxicity increases in potency when dried. [17] Ingestion and subsequent excretion by birds whose beaks and digestive systems do not break down the seed's coating are the primary means of yew dispersal. [18] The major toxin within the yew is the alkaloid taxine .

[19] Horses have a relatively low tolerance to taxine, with a lethal dose of 200–400 mg/kg body weight; cattle, pigs, and other livestock are only slightly less vulnerable. [20] Several studies [21] have found taxine LD50 values under 20 mg/kg in mice and rats. Symptoms of yew poisoning include an accelerated heart rate, muscle tremors, convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, circulation impairment and eventually heart failure. However, there may be no symptoms, and if poisoning remains undetected death may occur within hours. [22] Fatal poisoning in humans is very rare, usually occurring after consuming yew foliage. The leaves are more toxic than the seed. [19] Uses and traditions[ edit ] Foliage of Irish yew, Taxus baccata fastigiata; note the leaves spreading all round the erect shoots One of the world's oldest surviving wooden artifacts is a Clactonian yew [23] spear head, found in 1911 at Clacton-on-Sea , in Essex , UK. It is estimated to be about 450,000 years old.

[24] In the ancient Celtic world, the yew tree (*eburos) had extraordinary importance; a passage by Caesar narrates that Catuvolcus , chief of the Eburones poisoned himself with yew rather than submit to Rome (Gallic Wars 6: 31). Similarly, Florus notes that when the Cantabrians were under siege by the legate Gaius Furnius in 22 BC, most of them took their lives either by the sword, by fire, or by a poison extracted ex arboribus taxeis, that is, from the yew tree (2: 33, 50–51). In a similar way, Orosius notes that when the Astures were besieged at Mons Medullius, they preferred to die by their own swords or by the yew tree poison rather than surrender (6, 21, 1). Religion[ edit ] The yew is often found in churchyards in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and northern areas of Spain. In France, the oldest yew trees are almost all located in church yards of Normandy and a chapel was very often laid out in the hollow trunk.

Some examples can be found in La Haye-de-Routot or La Lande-Patry . It is said that up to 40 people could stand inside one of the La-Haye-de-Routot yew trees and the Le Ménil-Ciboult yew is probably the largest one (13 m diameter [25] ). Indeed some of these trees are exceptionally large (over 5 m diameter) and may be over 2,000 years old. Sometimes monks planted yews in the middle of their cloister, as at Muckross Abbey (Ireland) or abbaye de Jumièges (France). Some ancient yew trees are located at St Mary the Virgin Church, Overton-on-Dee in Wales. In Asturian tradition and culture the yew tree has had a real link with the land, the people, the ancestors and the ancient religion. It was tradition on All Saints Day to bring a branch of a yew tree to the tombs of those who had died recently so they will find the guide in their return to the Land of Shadows.

The yew tree has been found near chapels, churches and cemeteries since ancient times[ citation needed ] as a symbol of the transcendence of death, and is usually found in the main squares of the villages where people celebrated the open councils that served as a way of general assembly to rule the village affairs. Door of the Chapel in a Norman yew It has been suggested that the Sacred Tree at the Temple at Uppsala was an ancient yew tree. [26] [27] The Christian church commonly found it expedient to take over existing pre-Christian sacred sites for churches. It has also been suggested that yews were planted at religious sites as their long life was suggestive of eternity, or because being toxic they were seen as trees of death. [28] Another suggested explanation is that yews were planted to discourage farmers and drovers from letting animals wander onto the burial grounds, the poisonous foliage being the disincentive. A further possible reason is that fronds and branches of yew were often used as a substitute for palms on Palm Sunday .

[28] [29] [30] In traditional Germanic paganism, Yggdrasill was often seen as a giant ash tree .[ citation needed ] Many scholars now agree that in the past an error has been made in the interpretation of the ancient writings, and that the tree is most likely a European yew (Taxus baccata). This mistake would find its origin in an alternative word for the yew tree in the Old Norse, namely Needle Ash (barraskr). In addition, ancient sources, including the Eddas, speak about a vetgrønster vida which means "evergreen tree". An ash sheds its leaves in the winter, while yew trees retain their needles. Conifers were in the past often seen as sacred, because they never lose their green. In addition, the tree of life was not only an object from the stories, but also believers often gathered around an existing tree. The yew releases gaseous toxins (taxine) on hot days. Taxine is in some instances capable of causing hallucinations.

This has some similarities with the story that Odin had a revelation (the wisdom of the runes) after having been hanging from the tree for nine days.[ citation needed ] Medicines[ edit ] In 1021, Avicenna introduced the medicinal use of T. baccata for phytotherapy in The Canon of Medicine . He named this herbal drug "Zarnab" and used it as a cardiac remedy. This was the first known use of a calcium channel blocker drug, which were not in wide use in the Western world until the 1960s. [31] Certain compounds found in the bark of yew trees were discovered by Wall and Wani in 1967 to have efficacy as anti-cancer agents. The precursors of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (taxol) can be synthesized easily from the extracts of the leaves of European yew, [32] which is a more renewable source than the bark of the Pacific yew ( Taxus brevifolia ). This ended a point of conflict in the early 1990s; many environmentalists, including Al Gore , had opposed the harvesting of yew for paclitaxel cancer treatments.

Docetaxel can then be obtained by semi-synthetic conversion from the precursors. In the Central Himalayas, the plant is used as a treatment for breast and ovarian cancer. [33] Woodworking and longbows[ edit ] Bole of an ancient yew in Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerch, Brittany Wood from the yew is classified as a closed-pore softwood , similar to cedar and pine. Easy to work, yew is among the hardest of the softwoods; yet it possesses a remarkable elasticity, making it ideal for products that require springiness, such as bows. [34] Yew is also associated with Wales and England because of the longbow, an early weapon of war developed in northern Europe, and as the English longbow the basis for a medieval tactical system. The oldest surviving yew longbow was found at Rotten Bottom in Dumfries and Galloway , Scotland. It has been given a calibrated radiocarbon date of 4040 BC to 3640 BC and is on display in the National Museum of Scotland .

Yew is the wood of choice for longbow making; the heartwood is always on the inside of the bow with the sapwood on the outside. This makes most efficient use of their properties as heartwood is best in compression whilst sapwood is superior in tension. However, much yew is knotty and twisted, and therefore unsuitable for bowmaking; most trunks do not give good staves and even in a good trunk much wood has to be discarded. The trade of yew wood to England for longbows was so robust that it depleted the stocks of good-quality, mature yew over a vast area. The first documented import of yew bowstaves to England was in 1294. In 1350 there was a serious shortage, and Henry IV of England ordered his royal bowyer to enter private land and cut yew and other woods. In 1423 the Polish king commanded protection of yews in order to cut exports, facing nearly complete destruction of local yew stock. [35] In 1470 compulsory archery practice was renewed, and hazel , ash , and laburnum were specifically allowed for practice bows.

Supplies still proved insufficient, until by the Statute of Westminster in 1472, every ship coming to an English port had to bring four bowstaves for every tun . [36] Richard III of England increased this to ten for every tun. This stimulated a vast network of extraction and supply, which formed part of royal monopolies in southern Germany and Austria. In 1483, the price of bowstaves rose from two to eight pounds per hundred, and in 1510 the Venetians would only sell a hundred for sixteen pounds. In 1507 the Holy Roman Emperor asked the Duke of Bavaria to stop cutting yew, but the trade was profitable, and in 1532 the royal monopoly was granted for the usual quantity "if there are that many." In 1562, the Bavarian government sent a long plea to the Holy Roman Emperor asking him to stop the cutting of yew, and outlining the damage done to the forests by its selective extraction, which broke the canopy and allowed wind to destroy neighbouring trees.

In 1568, despite a request from Saxony, no royal monopoly was granted because there was no yew to cut, and the next year Bavaria and Austria similarly failed to produce enough yew to justify a royal monopoly. Forestry records in this area in the 17th century do not mention yew, and it seems that no mature trees were to be had. The English tried to obtain supplies from the Baltic, but at this period bows were being replaced by guns in any case. [37] Horticulture[ edit ] An Irish yew (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata') planted at Kenilworth Castle Today European yew is widely used in landscaping and ornamental horticulture. Due to its dense, dark green, mature foliage, and its tolerance of even very severe pruning, it is used especially for formal hedges and topiary . Its relatively slow growth rate means that in such situations it needs to be clipped only once per year (in late summer). Well over 200 cultivars of T. baccata have been named. The most popular of these are the Irish yew (T.

baccata 'Fastigiata'), a fastigiate cultivar of the European yew selected from two trees found growing in Ireland, and the several cultivars with yellow leaves, collectively known as "golden yew". [4] [7] In some locations, e.g. when hemmed in by buildings or other trees, an Irish yew can reach 20 feet in height without exceeding 2 feet in diameter at its thickest point, although with age many Irish yews assume a fat cigar shape rather than being truly columnar. 'Standishii' [44] European yew will tolerate growing in a wide range of soils and situations, including shallow chalk soils and shade, [45] although in deep shade its foliage may be less dense. However it cannot tolerate waterlogging, and in poorly-draining situations is liable to succumb to the root-rotting pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi . In Europe, Taxus baccata grows naturally north to Molde in southern Norway, but it is used in gardens further north. It is also popular as a bonsai in many parts of Europe and makes a handsome small to large sized bonsai.

[46] Musical instruments[ edit ] The late Robert Lundberg, a noted luthier who performed extensive research on historical lute -making methodology, states in his 2002 book Historical Lute Construction that yew was historically a prized wood for lute construction. European legislation establishing use limits and requirements for yew limited supplies available to luthiers, but it was apparently as prized among medieval, renaissance, and baroque lute builders as Brazilian Rosewood is among contemporary guitar-makers for its quality of sound and beauty. Conservation[ edit ] Clippings from ancient specimens in the UK, including the Fortingall Yew, were taken to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh to form a mile-long hedge. The purpose of this "Yew Conservation Hedge Project" is to maintain the DNA of Taxus baccata. The species is threatened by felling, partly due to rising demand from pharmaceutical companies, and disease. [47] Taxus baccata, yew - THE POISON GARDEN website THE POISON GARDEN website Taxus baccata, yew Summary Rich in myths, legends and folklore.

The berries are a good example of why advising a child to always chew its food thoroughly is not universally sound. Blog Entries Meaning of the Name Taxus Possibly from the Greek ‘taxon’, ‘bow’ as a result of the use of its wood to make bows. Persian has ‘tachš’ for ‘bow’. A mummy from the Chalcolithic age, around 4000BC, was found with an unfinished bow made of yew so its use for this purpose goes back much further than the English long bowmen usually associated with it. yew, Irish yew, English yew How Poisonous, How Harmful? Taxus baccata, yew All parts, except the flesh of the berries, contain taxin(e) a complex of alkaloids which is rapidly absorbed. Also present are ephedrine, a cyanogenic glycoside (taxiphyllin) and a volatile oil. Where poisoning does occur, in animals or humans, there may be no symptoms and death may follow within a few hours of ingestion. If symptoms do occur, they include trembling, staggering, coldness, weak pulse and collapse. Yew is one of the plants where the poison is not destroyed when the plant dies.

Thus, branches removed from a yew by high winds or pruning will retain their poison. Though the berries are harmless, the seed within is highly toxic. Unbroken it will pass through the body without being digested but if the seed is chewed poisoning can occur with as few as three berries. Taxus baccata, yew Incidents Most incidents with yew relate to animals though it was eaten, in the 1980s, by four prisoners as a means of suicide. Three of the four succeeded. The interactive CD-ROM produced by St Thomas' and Kew Gardens cites a number of case reports all involving ingestion of leaves or bark. In one case it is noted that a nineteen month old child accidentally ingested some plant material. Intact seeds were found in his stools confirming that these are not digested. The child recovered. Farmers have reported cases of poisoning in cattle when dead yew clippings have been dumped on grazing land. The assumption is that someone clipped a yew hedge in the garden, left the clippings to wither thinking that would render them safe before 'recycling' them by dumping them on farmland.

A visitor to the Alnwick Garden Poison Garden talked about his elderly neighbour who, being no longer able to manage it himself, had a group of young people in to tidy up his garden. They trimmed his yews and threw the clippings over the fence into the field at the bottom of the garden where three heifers died after eating the cuttings. Folklore and Facts Some years ago, it was found that the taxol found in yew could be used to produce chemotherapy treatments for breast and other cancers. The drug produced in this way is called paclitaxel. (Until someone was kind enough to correct me, I was one of the many people who thought tamoxifen was produced from yew. It is not. Tamoxifen is a synthetic drug.) For some time, large gardens made a point of keeping their yew prunings and passing these to companies to extract the taxol and produce these drugs. This was an expensive process and produced only limited amounts of the drug. Since then, however, it has been discovered that taxol is produced from a fungus that lives in the yew. Other fungi have also been found that are able to be used to produce paclitaxel.

With some, artificially brewing is possible and, once that process is scaled up, it should reduce the cost and increase the availability of breast cancer treatments. Though toxic to most animals, deer do graze on yew and gardeners are advised to avoid growing yew if there is a possibility of deer getting into the garden because it is a favourite food. That said, the list of plants which deer will browse is a very long one and there are reports of poisoning incidents so it may be large amounts are toxic to deer. The idea that yew was grown in churchyards for making longbows is a myth. Bows were made, primarily, from the trunk of the tree so the tree was destroyed. In addition, yew grown in Britain is too brittle so the famous English longbow was made from wood imported from Europe. The roots of the yew are very fine and will grow through the eyes of the dead to prevent them seeing their way back to the world of the living. Sources - Galen Galen was a Greek who worked as a doctor in Rome. He lived from about 130AD to about 215AD.

He spent much time dissecting animals to try and understand the workings of the body and was the first to conclude that the kidneys are where urine is formed rather than the bladder. He also discovered the heart valves and found that the arteries carry blood around the body and not air as was thought. Many of his other discoveries were, however, erroneous and he fell out of favour during the Renaissance. That we know so much of Galen’s writings is due to their translation into Arabic, during the 9th century, by Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Many of the English herbals refer to Galen to support their descriptions of the efficacy of plant remedies. Yew is very long-lived and, in many cases, the yew tree in the churchyard predates the church so, the church was built round a yew tree because the pagan belief about the roots was so deep-seated. Its longevity leads to its featuring in tales of reincarnation. If two yews are intertwined it is believed that they grew after yew stakes were driven into the chests of lovers whose relationship appalled their community. Many place names have their origins in particular trees. York is a corruption of an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘the place where yew grows’.

John Gerard quotes Galen and others as saying that the yew is very venomous taken internally and that sleeping under a Yew can cause sickness and oftentimes death. He then dismisses these stories by saying that ‘when I was young and went to school, divers of my school fellows and likewise myself did eat our fills of the berries of this tree and hath not only slept under the shadow thereof, but among the branches also, without hurt at all, and that not one time, but many times’. Thomas Johnson resolves the difference of opinion between the foreign ancient sources and Gerard by asserting that the yew in England is not poisonous but, in other countries, it is highly venomous. Site Update All the pages in the A to Z section are regularly updated. Western yew Western yew Western yew Taxus brevifolia A low spreading shrub to a small tree, 5 to 15 metres tall; young trees are often square in profile, becoming more cone-shaped with age. The trunk is twisted and becomes very wide near the base, with horizontally spreading branches.

Leaves Needles are flat, about 2 centimetres long, with a distinctive pointed tip; dark yellowish-green, arranged spirally on twigs but twisted so that they appear to grow in two rows. Cones Seed and pollen cones usually appear on separate trees. The fruit consists of a coral-red fleshy cup that is open at one end and contains a single seed. Bark Thin, dark reddish or purplish scales shed off the trunk and expose a rose-coloured underbark. Where to find western yew It occurs scattered throughout the wetter forests of the coast and the Interior wet belt, primarily at low to mid elevations. Habitat Western yew occurs on a wide variety of sites, from dry and rocky to moist depressions and ravines; it generally occurs on sites that have abundant soil nutrients. It often occurs together with Douglas-fir, western redcedar, and western hemlock, as well as plants such as salal, Oregon-grape, or skunk cabbage. Where it does occur, it is important food for black-tailed deer, elk, moose, and caribou.

Several birds - including blackbirds, waxwings and nuthatches - and various small rodents eat the fruit. In so doing, they scatter the seed away from the tree. Uses Although the fruit of western yew is considered toxic, some coastal native groups occasionally ate it in small amounts. The native people used the strong, stiff wood for making items such as bows, tools, paddles, and prying sticks. It is still used for making bows and paddles. Interior peoples sometimes used the branches to make snowshoe frames. The bark of western yew contains a compound called taxol, which shows promise in treating some forms of cancer. Notes Taxus is a Latin word for "bow." Some historians believe that Robin Hood's bow was made from English yew. Yew Tree Topiary UK.

Buy Taxus Baccata Topiary Trees UK Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Updated for 2016 As I am sure many gardeners will agree, there is always something new to learn about plants… Whilst researching about Yew Trees yesterday, I was reminded that the Latin word Bacatta (as in Taxus Bacatta) means to bear berries – this is a reference to the brilliant red berries covering this plant in winter, which are so loved by birds. **SPECIAL OFFER** Yew Hedging Trees | Taxus Baccata for sale at Paramount Plants Taxus Bacatta also known as Yew , English Yew or European Yew is one of the oldest plants in existence. It is difficult to date because Yew hollows inside the boughs over hundreds of years, and so does not have the usual internal bark rings which are counted to check the age of most other trees. However some English Yew can reliably be traced back to the 10th Century and is the longest-living plant in Europe. One reason for the longevity of yew plants is that this plant is fairly disease resistant.

Another reason I believe is that Yews are so easily maintained, adaptable and so have lasted the test of time (and fashions). Yew plants have been used for centuries as hedging or topiary. It is so easy to prune and in its highly clipped topiarised form any shape can be produced including cloud trees , lollipops , spirals and so on. **SPECIAL OFFER** Save £50! Buy Two for £200 – Half Standard Lollipop Yew Topiary Trees Yew Topiary | **SPECIAL OFFER** Half Standard Lollipop Trees | Yew Spiral Topiary Recently on one of our plant sourcing expeditions across Europe, we purchased custom made Yew to recreate a Victorian style parterre garden. Quite incredible specimens. Yew has such an elegant sophisticated dark green appearance and creates a backdrop to other showier colourful planting. Yew topiary for sale at Paramount Plants One of our Yew Tree Topiary Specimens off to its new home… I was inspired to write about Yews when a saw some photos of Parc de Sceaux with some amazing Taxus topiary.

Local to us is Hatfield House which has ancient topiary and hedging yew to view and I am arranging another trip there soon for more inspiration. Yew Topiary Covered in Berries – Adored by birds Of course you are always welcome to visit us at Paramount Plants to view the selections of yew hedging and topiary available or check out photos of our plants online at No related posts. Irish Yew - Taxus baccata âFastigiataâ - PNW Plants Fruit Description Most commonly used for hedging purposes, Irish Yew has a naturally upright form and takes shearing well. It's an option for gardeners looking for an alternative to more common Eastern Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis). Morphology: Taxus baccata âFastigiataâ will reach 7â â 8â high by 3â wide in ten years. Ultimately, it can reach up to 20 feet high if left un-pruned. It naturally makes a good shape without any clipping or trimming. It holds its branches in an upright rigid fashion. Needles are linear in shape with an acute tip.

This is a female cultivar that produces red berries in the fall. Children should be kept away from the berries as they find them attractive. Unfortunately they are poisonous. Adaptation: Taxus baccata âFastigiataâ prefers well-drained acidic soil and is drought tolerant once established. Plant it in full sun or shade. All parts of the yew plant (bark, and foliage included) can be toxic, so site plants with care. Pests: Yew - definition of yew by The Free Dictionary Yew - definition of yew by The Free Dictionary (yo͞o) n. 1. Any of several poisonous evergreen coniferous trees or shrubs of the genus Taxus, having scarlet cup-shaped arils and flat needles that are dark green above and yellowish below. Yews contain compounds used in medicine and are often grown as ornamentals. 2. The wood of any of these trees, especially the durable, fine-grained wood of the Eurasian and North African species Taxus baccata, used in cabinetmaking and for archery bows. [Middle English, from Old English īw.] yew (juː) n 1.

(Plants) any coniferous tree of the genus Taxus, of the Old World and North America, esp T. baccata, having flattened needle-like leaves, fine-grained elastic wood, and solitary seeds with a red waxy aril resembling berries: family Taxaceae 2. (Forestry) the wood of any of these trees, used to make bows for archery 3. (Archery) archery a bow made of yew [Old English īw; related to Old High German īwa, Old Norse ӯr yew, Latin ūva grape, Russian iva willow] yew1 (yu) n. 1. any of several evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Taxus, of the family Taxaceae, having needlelike foliage and seeds enclosed in a fleshy aril. 2. the fine-grained, elastic wood of any of these trees. 3. an archer's bow made of this wood. [before 900; Middle English ew(e), Old English ēow, ī(o)w, c.

Old Saxon īh, Old High German īga, īwa, Old Norse ýr, Middle Irish eó yew (Old Irish: stem, shaft), Welsh ywen yew tree, Russian íva willow] yew2 family Taxaceae , Taxaceae , yew family - sometimes classified as member of order Taxales yew - wood of a yew; especially the durable fine-grained light brown or red wood of the English yew valued for cabinetwork and archery bows English yew , Old World yew , Taxus baccata - predominant yew in Europe; extraordinarily long-lived and slow growing; one of the oldest species in the world California yew , Pacific yew , Taxus brevifolia , western yew - small or medium irregularly branched tree of the Pacific coast of North America; yields fine hard close-grained wood Japanese yew , Taxus cuspidata - shrubby hardy evergreen of China and Japan having lustrous dark green foliage; cultivated in the eastern United States Florida yew , Taxus floridana - small bushy yew of northern Florida having spreading branches and very narrow leaves Austrotaxus spicata , New Caledonian

 yew - large yew native to New Caledonia; cultivated in eastern Australia and New Zealand and Hawaii Pseudotaxus chienii , white-berry yew - yew of southeastern China, differing from the Old World yew in having white berries conifer , coniferous tree - any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones Translations Yew Tree - definition of Yew Tree by The Free Dictionary Yew Tree - definition of Yew Tree by The Free Dictionary (yo͞o) n.

1. Any of several poisonous evergreen coniferous trees or shrubs of the genus Taxus, having scarlet cup-shaped arils and flat needles that are dark green above and yellowish below. Yews contain compounds used in medicine and are often grown as ornamentals. 2. The wood of any of these trees, especially the durable, fine-grained wood of the Eurasian and North African species Taxus baccata, used in cabinetmaking and for archery bows. [Middle English, from Old English īw.] yew (juː) n 1. (Plants) any coniferous tree of the genus Taxus, of the Old World and North America, esp T. baccata, having flattened needle-like leaves, fine-grained elastic wood, and solitary seeds with a red waxy aril resembling berries: family Taxaceae 2. (Forestry) the wood of any of these trees, used to make bows for archery 3.

(Archery) archery a bow made of yew [Old English īw; related to Old High German īwa, Old Norse ӯr yew, Latin ūva grape, Russian iva willow] yew1 (yu) n. 1. any of several evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Taxus, of the family Taxaceae, having needlelike foliage and seeds enclosed in a fleshy aril. 2. the fine-grained, elastic wood of any of these trees. 3. an archer's bow made of this wood. [before 900; Middle English ew(e), Old English ēow, ī(o)w, c.

Old Saxon īh, Old High German īga, īwa, Old Norse ýr, Middle Irish eó yew (Old Irish: stem, shaft), Welsh ywen yew tree, Russian íva willow] yew2 family Taxaceae , Taxaceae , yew family - sometimes classified as member of order Taxales yew - wood of a yew; especially the durable fine-grained light brown or red wood of the English yew valued for cabinetwork and archery bows English yew , Old World yew , Taxus baccata - predominant yew in Europe; extraordinarily long-lived and slow growing; one of the oldest species in the world California yew , Pacific yew , Taxus brevifolia , western yew - small or medium irregularly branched tree of the Pacific coast of North America; yields fine hard close-grained wood Japanese yew , Taxus cuspidata - shrubby hardy evergreen of China and Japan having lustrous dark green foliage; cultivated in the eastern United States Florida yew , Taxus floridana - small bushy yew of northern Florida having spreading branches and very narrow leaves Austrotaxus spicata , New Caledonian

 yew - large yew native to New Caledonia; cultivated in eastern Australia and New Zealand and Hawaii Pseudotaxus chienii , white-berry yew - yew of southeastern China, differing from the Old World yew in having white berries conifer , coniferous tree - any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones Translations Taxus baccata (common yew) | Plants & Fungi At Kew Discover plants and fungi Taxus baccata (common yew) A densely branching evergreen that can live for centuries, the common yew is often found in British churchyards.

Taxus baccata on a ruined wall at Waverley Abbey, Surrey. Species information Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN Red List criteria. Habitat: Oak and beech woodland, often on chalk or limestone substrates. Key Uses: Ornamental, timber, wood for bow-making, medicinal. Known hazards: The seeds, leaves and bark are highly poisonous and can cause fatal poisoning of humans and livestock. Taxonomy Genus: Taxus About this species Taxus baccata, although native to Britain and sometimes referred to as the English yew, is also found across much of Europe, western Asia and North Africa. The generic name Taxus is reflected in the name of the poisonous taxanes found in the tree. Some botanists did not consider yew to be a true conifer, since it does not bear its seeds in a cone. However, proper consideration of its evolutionary relationships now places the yew family (Taxaceae) firmly within the conifers. Medicinal Uses Yew trees contain the highly poisonous taxane alkaloids that have been developed as anti-cancer drugs. Eating just a few leaves can make a small child severely ill and fatalities have occurred.

All parts of the tree are poisonous, with the exception of the bright red arils. The arils are harmless, fleshy, cup-like structures, partially enveloping the seeds, which are eaten by birds (which disperse the seeds); however, the black seeds inside them should not be eaten as they contain poisonous alkaloids. Discover more Geography and distribution The common yew is found across much of Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It grows throughout the British Isles (although it is less abundant in Ireland, and absent from the far north of Scotland), especially on calcareous soils. Ancient yew woods, formed of almost pure stands of yew, are a typical feature of chalk soils in southern England (for example along the North Downs and in the Chiltern Hills). Taxus baccata ripe seeds enclosed by a bright red aril. Description Taxus baccata is a densely branching, evergreen tree with a massive trunk, reaching up to 20 m tall. The leaves are dark green, linear and up to 3 cm long, with a pointed tip, and appear to spread in two rows on either side of the shoot.

Unlike many other conifers, the common yew does not actually bear its seeds in a cone. Instead, each seed grows alone at the tip of a dwarf shoot, enclosed in a fleshy, usually red, aril which is open at the tip and up to 1 cm in length. How old is a yew tree? Taxus baccata in Kentchurch Court deer park, Herefordshire While it is generally agreed that the yew lives for a long time, the actual age of individual trees is often impossible to judge. The traditional method of counting the rings in the trunk of a tree is often not an option, because many older specimens develop hollow trunks. This is caused by a fungus that turns the inside of the tree into a pulpy, soil-like mass of rotten wood (which seems to have no ill-effect on the health of the tree as a whole). However, as yew trunks have been known to reach huge girths of as much as 4 m (13 ft), even the most conservative estimates of around 2,000 years of age, place them as the longest-living trees in Europe.

Taxus baccata foliage and pollen cones In 2000, Kew scientists in the Jodrell Laboratory at Kew used their skills in plant anatomy and chemistry to solve the death of two horses. Tim Lawrence was able to detect fragments of yew leaves in the stomach contents of the horses while Dr Geoffrey Kite developed a method to detect the toxic yew-derived taxane alkaloids in the stomach contents using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (an analytical chemistry technique using physical separation and mass analysis). Dr Kite has since used his liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method to investigate other horse deaths, suspected as being caused by yew. Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storage Kew's Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault. Description of seeds: Average 1,000 seed weight = 60.3 g. Seeds are dispersed by birds. Number of seed collections stored in the Millennium Seed Bank: One.

Seed storage behaviour: Orthodox (the seeds of this plant survive drying without significant reduction in their viability, and are therefore amenable to long-term frozen storage such as at the MSB) Germination testing: 84% germination achieved with pre-sowing treatments (imbibed on 1% agar for 20 weeks at 5°C, then imbibed on 1% agar for 20 weeks at 20°C, then 1% agar at 5°C for 21 weeks) and then on a germination medium of 1% agar, at a temperature of 20°C, on a cycle of 8 hours light/16 hours darkness. This species at Kew The parterre in front of Kew Palace is surrounded on all sides by a hedge of common yew. Yew trees can also be seen in the woodland of the Conservation Area close to Queen Charlotte’s Cottage. There are some spectacular examples of yew trees growing with their roots climbing down over sandstone rocks at Wakehurst.

Kew at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011 In 2011, Kew partnered with The Times to produce a show garden to showcase the significance of plants to science and society. The garden, designed by Chelsea gold medallist Marcus Barnett, featured species chosen to demonstrate both beauty and utility, including medicinal, commercial, and industrial uses to underline the fact that plants are invaluable to our everyday lives – without them, none of us could live on this planet; they produce our food, clothing and the air that we breathe. Taxus baccata was one of the species that featured in the garden, which was awarded a Silver Medal. References and credits Bevan-Jones, R. (2007). The ancient yew, a history of Taxus baccata. Windgather Press, Bollington, Cheshire. Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Taxus baccata. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. < . Downloaded on 02 November 2010. Cooper, M.R. & Johnson, A.W. (1998).

Poisonous Plants and Fungi in Britain: Animal and Human Poisoning. The Stationery Office, London. Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World’s Conifers. E.J. Brill, Leiden & Boston. Huxley, A., Griffiths, M. & Levy, M. (eds) (1992). The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. Vol. 4 (R to Z): 437-438. Macmillan Press, London. Kite G.C., Lawrence T.J. & Dauncey E.A. (2000) Detecting Taxus poisoning in horses using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Vet. Hum. Toxicol. 42(3):151-154. Preston, C.D., Pearman, D.A. & Dines, T.A. (eds) (2002). New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora: An atlas of the Vascular Plants of Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Wageneder, F. (2007).

Yew, a history. Sutton Publishing Ltd., Stroud. Kew Science Editor: Aljos Farjon Kew contributors: Sustainable Uses Group Copyediting: Emma Tredwell While every effort has been taken to ensure that the information contained in these pages is reliable and complete, the notes on hazards, edibility and suchlike included here are recorded information and do not constitute recommendations. No responsibility will be taken for readers’ own actions.

Question: Which tree has the Latin word Taxus?
Answer: Yew